(WBAP/KLIF) — A drop in childhood vaccination rates alarms Texas medical professionals. As kids head back to the classroom, there’s an increased risk of exposure to previously eliminated infectious diseases.
Terri Burke, Director of the Immunization Partnership, says there were over a thousand confirmed cases of measles in 2019, the greatest number since 1992. The number of students not up-to-date on vaccinations this school year is at a record high. Vicki Regan of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital worries that parents are being misinformed on social media.
More than 130,000 students in the Lone Star State received either an exemption or were behind on kindergarten vaccinations. Glenn Fennelly at Texas Tech’s Department of Pediatrics worries if that trend continues to below 70%, there will be a resurgence in previously eliminated infectious diseases such as polio and measles. Over the past 5 years, cases of measles and polio have been on the rise in the U.S.
Despite the downward trend, childhood vaccination rates remain above 90%.
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